– A vampire locked in a cage in the basement, for good luck.
– Bad guys, clever girls, and the various reasons why the guys have to stop breathing.
– A world where fires never go out (with references to vanilla ice cream).

These are but a few of the curiosities collected in this volume of short stories by three acclaimed practitioners of paranormal fiction.

But The Curiosities is more than the stories. Since 2008, Maggie, Tessa, and Brenna have posted more than 250 works of short fiction to their website merryfates.com. Their goal was simple: create a space for experimentation and improvisation in their writing—all in public and without a backspace key. In that spirit, The Curiosities includes the stories and each author’s comments, critiques, and kudos in the margins. Think of it as a guided tour of the creative processes of three acclaimed authors.

So, are you curious now?

review:

I love anthologies, but I think I enjoy more conventional ones than this one about writing and experimental writing. The three authors work together and against each other to create stories that sometimes seem half-finished, because they don’t have the regular polish of editing or a longer period of work. This isn’t to say that I didn’t enjoy this, I just think that I was hoping for something a little more.

I liked the little comments that all three put in each others’ stories as well as their own; that made things more interesting. I also liked the little explanations of how a story came about or what idea the author latched onto that really inspired them to write that story. While not many of them stuck out to me after reading, I could appreciate the writing process and all of the tips throughout the collection. I think that this book would be valuable for anyone who is looking to better their writing or is wondering what to do when they find themselves stuck for ideas or writing that they’ll like.

I really recommend this collection for aspiring writers. Being able to see into the creative process of three writers who’ve already made names for themselves is definitely what makes this unique and useful.